


Tied To You

by darkangel0410



Category: Bandom, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, Bandom/Avengers crossover, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-06
Updated: 2014-01-06
Packaged: 2018-01-07 18:30:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1122993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkangel0410/pseuds/darkangel0410
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>Nous touns ceux qui nous chasser.</i> [We kill those who hunt us.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [candy_belle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/candy_belle/gifts).



> This is basically a fusion with Teen Wolf; obviously I made tons of changes to Bandom canon -most notable is the fact that Jessica is Ashlee's aunt in this and not her sister. I should also mention that Avenger canon is completely non-existent in this and aside from some one or two of the teachers and a mention of Laura Hale as Andy's older sister, no one from Teen Wolf is in it, just the general plot, ides, etc., from there that I liked.

Patrick barely looked up when Pepper sat down next to him in the cafeteria; his eyes flicked up to make sure it was who he thought and then he focused back on the mythology book opened in front of him. A little of the tension bled out of his shoulders, a little more relaxed now that he wasn't alone and the rest of it disappeared completely as he heard Pete and Tony shoving and insulting each other as they came into the room. A quick glance up confirmed that they were going to stand in line along with Bruce.

 

“Aren't you going to eat?” Pepper questioned as she opened up the container holding the cut up vegetables she always brought from her house. She offered it to Patrick as she peered down at what he was reading.

 

Patrick took a carrot and absently dipped it the ranch dressing on her tray. “Yeah, Pete can grab me some food,” Patrick answered without bothering to raise his voice, he knew Pete would be able to hear him.

 

Sure enough, Tony immediately started teasing Pete about being dick whipped while Bruce just laughed at them and handed Pete an extra tray. Patrick exchanged a knowing smirk with Pepper -if Pete was dick whipped then Tony was beyond pussy whipped- and then frowned when he realized Mikey and Joe weren't there yet.

 

Even as he looked around, Joe came in and immediately headed for their table, Mikey a step behind him. “What the fuck, man,” Joe sighed as they sat down across from them. “I swear, freshmen get dumber every year.”

 

“Three of them couldn't find the library,” Mikey supplied. “Joe tried to give them directions to the elementary school and Harris overheard and spent ten minutes ranting at us.”

 

“Sorry about the extra suicides at practice,” Joe added cheerfully before he shoved his sandwich in his mouth.

 

“Thanks a lot, Trohman,” Tony sniped as he slid into his seat next to Pepper; he pressed his thigh against hers and some of his usual restlessness settled at the touch of his mate, even through two layers of clothes.

 

“Yeah, some of us aren't all -” Bruce told him as he made a clawing gesture with his free hand, “- and it's a pain in the ass for us.”

 

“Here, babe,” Pete said and set a tray with a cheeseburger, fries and a soda in front of Patrick. He sat down with his own tray of food, close enough that Patrick had to elbow him a few inches away so he could actually feed himself.

 

“Thanks,” Patrick told him; he closed the book and moved it to the middle of the table before it got ruined.

 

“Incubuses?” Pepper asked with a raised eyebrow; she tapped her finger on the book at the confused look on Joe's face

 

Patrick shrugged and finished chewing before he answered. “You never know; after that mess with the faeries over the summer -”

 

Everyone groaned and even Mikey looked pained at the reminder of that particular fiasco.

 

“- I thought it would be a good idea to brush up on some other 'mythical creatures', just in case.”

 

“That's a good idea,” Pepper said absently; she made a quick list on her phone of different websites she knew of and a note to do a search for more later. She put her phone down and rolled her eyes at the way Ashlee kept glancing over at them from where she was sitting with her friends.

 

Anyone with eyes could see the way Pete adored Patrick, had even before he got bitten and realized his best friend was his mate; even during the four or five months he was dating Ashlee, he always put Patrick before anything else until he remembered that he had a girlfriend and that Ashlee was suppose to come first.

 

Pepper had been at the party when they had gotten together; Pete and Ashlee had gotten into  _another_  fight and she had stormed out of Bucky's house and Pete had gone to find Patrick. This was at the end of the last school year, before they had started really hanging out together, but even then Pepper could remember thinking Pete was dating the wrong person.

 

Tony had caught them making out on the back porch and, in an uncharacteristic show of restraint, interrupted them and made sure they left before he came back inside and told her what happened.

 

Pepper mentally shook herself and glanced over to see Bucky and Steve walking towards them. She carefully nudged Patrick and tilted her head when he looked at her. Patrick glanced over and grimaced; before he could say anything, Bucky was already talking.

 

“Tony, what's up?”

 

“Hey, Barnes,” Tony said evenly enough, but Pepper saw him tense up at the arrival of his other team mates. “What's going on?”

 

“Just wondering why you're sitting over here, instead of with the team,” Bucky answered; he gestured to the rest of the table and sneered. “I mean, these losers -”

 

“Jesus, Bucky,” Steve elbowed him and looked embarrassed. “Sorry, guys.”

 

“It's alright,” Pete drawled. “I've been called worse by better.”

 

“Besides, everyone at this table is on the lacrosse team, too,” Bruce pointed out dryly. “Except Pepper, of course.”

 

“Yeah, but Pep doesn't need a lacrosse stick and pads to kick the shit out of us,” Patrick added slyly.

 

“I'd rather be able to not act like a complete ass on game days, thanks guys,” Pepper told them with a laugh; she put her head on Tony's shoulder and rested her hand on his thigh. She knew contact with her helped him control the wolf and while seeing Bucky lose his shit had a certain appeal, Pepper didn't think the middle of school was the place for it.

 

“Jesus, Pepper, clingy much?” Bucky bitched as he waved his hand at them. “Let the guy breathe.”

 

“Bucky!” Steve said and punched him in the arm. “What the hell?”

 

“See, this is why you haven't gotten laid in months,” Joe informed him blithely. “You're an asshole and not even a funny one like Tony.”

 

“Gee, thanks,” Tony rolled his eyes but kept his attention on Bucky; Bucky shifted nervously at the look on the other teenager's face, unsure why he suddenly felt so uneasy.

 

“At least you're pretty, that kind of balances it out,” Bucky went on, doing what he always did when he felt uneasy: bullshit his way out of it and hope no one noticed. Beside him, Steve sighed and shook his head.

 

“Unlike Wentz over there,” Bucky rambled, unaware of the fact that half the table had frozen and the other half were looking at him like he was crazy; Patrick was one of the few things that got an immediate and, depending on what you said, violent reaction out of Pete. After getting bitten, it had just gotten worse and even the seniors didn't rag on Patrick or bother him in the halls any more. “I mean, who dumps  _Ashlee Simpson_  for Stump? Talk about a downgrade, man, he's -”

 

Bucky stopped and stared at the complete rage on Pete's face; Pete's eyes focused on the other teenager as he let out a choked off growl and started to stand up.

 

“Sit down,” Patrick hissed and yanked on his mate's arm, but Pete resisted, his attention still on Bucky. Patrick saw his fingers start to shift into claws and this time he stood up and got into Pete's face. “Sit the fuck down, Pete.”

 

“You guys better go, Steve,” Tony said as he looked over to where Pete was still struggling against Patrick and now Joe; Steve couldn't help but notice the edge to Tony's voice and not for the first time that year, he wondered what the hell had happened over the summer.

 

“Get him out of here,” Pepper said as they all got up. “Bruce and I will clean up the trays and then meet you by the jeep.”

 

Tony hesitated, glancing back to where Steve and Bucky were still staring at them. Pepper followed his gaze and laughed softly. “I can handle those two,” she reminded Tony and kissed him on the cheek.

 

“I'm not going to apologize,” Bucky hissed petulantly and shook off the hand Steve put on his shoulder. “You think I'm afraid of him? I could take -”

 

There was another noise from Pete and Patrick glared at Bucky before he dipped his head close to Pete's ear and murmured something; whatever it was had Pete abruptly focusing on Patrick and he let Patrick lead him out of the cafeteria, their fingers tangled together. Everyone else was ranged around them, Joe and Mikey bringing up the rear while Tony slipped in on the other side of Pete; Pete paused at the doors and looked over his shoulder, his gaze centered on Bucky. He bared his teeth at him, a warning that made Bucky twitch even if he didn't understand why, and then the doors swung shut behind them.

 

“You are a moron,” Pepper informed him as she started stacking trays with Bruce. “If they hadn't left, Pete would have -”

 

“Please,” Bucky scoffed; he still felt uneasy -something about the way Wentz acted had definitely thrown him, but that didn't mean he was gong to start acting like a _pussy_ \- but he wasn't going to let these assholes know that. “The day I can't kick Pete Wentz's ass is the day I fucken wear a dress to school.”

 

“That's exactly why you're going to end up getting seriously hurt one day,” Bruce told him quietly. “You've never understood that just because someone looks like you can beat them up, it doesn't mean you actually  _can_  kick their ass.”

 

“Do yourself a favor, leave Pete alone,” Pepper said as she grabbed Patrick's book. “Actually, stay away from all of us. It's going to get you into trouble -the kind that your father can't buy your way out of.”

 

“And if not for you, do it for Steve,” Bruce added. “He's probably the only person that genuinely gives a fuck about you.”

 

They left Bucky staring after them, more confused than ever about what was going on.

 

*

 

“Seriously, Pete, you need to control yourself,” Patrick told him; they were leaning against the side of Patrick's jeep, Pete's arm around Patrick's waist as Pete nuzzled his neck.

 

More than one passing freshmen stared at them, but Patrick's glare had them moving on almost immediately; Patrick wished he could blame turning into a werewolf on Pete's affectionate clingyness, but he had been like that ever since kindergarten when he used to rest his head on Patrick's stomach during nap time. Patrick had almost eleven years experience of using that glare to get people to mind their own business whenever Pete decided to be socially unacceptable levels of handsy with him -long before being a werewolf came into the equation.

 

“You know how many times someone's called me ugly?” Patrick went on and ignored the annoyed growl he felt more than heard. “You going to beat up all of them?”

 

“Yes,” Pete insisted irritably and nipped his mate's neck; Patrick shuddered and then said, “Shut it, Stark,” when he heard Tony snickering from the front of the jeep.

 

Patrick waited patiently and after a few minutes, Pete sighed. “I get it, all right? Wolfing out in the middle of lunch is not the best idea. I just -Jesus, 'Trick, I  _hate_ the way he acts around you, like you're not worth anything just because your mom's a nurse and you guys don't have tons of money the way his parents and the Rogers do -”

 

And the Starks -who had more money than most of the town put together- but while Tony could be accused of a lot of things, bullying people had never been one of them. Besides, Tony was pack and that made a huge difference.

 

“- and it just,” Pete paused and dropped his head onto Patrick's shoulder. “You're one of the best people I've ever known and you're smart and awesome and gorgeous and it pisses me off that he has to be such a dickhead to you every chance he gets.”

 

“Jesus, if I turn into a sap when I end up mated, somebody hit me,” Joe grinned as he came back around by them, Mikey just behind him.

 

“I could always hit you now,” Patrick threatened idly as he rested his head against Pete's for a quick minute; there was no one else around them right now except for pack and he knew he could cuddle with Pete without getting more than some good-natured ribbing from everyone.

 

“Come on, Patrick, you know you love us,” Mikey told him, his lips twitching slightly.

 

“I can't imagine why,” Pepper said as she and Bruce walked over to them; Tony jumped off of the hood, completely ignoring the annoyed noise Patrick made, and landed right next to them. She handed the book to Patrick who shrugged Pete off long enough to drop the book on his seat and then lock it back up. “The whole lot of you are a pain in the ass.”

 

“Aw, come on, Pep,” Tony pouted playfully. “I'm cute, after all.”

 

Pepper raised an eyebrow and shook her head with a laugh. “And you're lucky that you are, trust me,” she teased him and laced their hands together.

 

The bell rung and everyone moaned; chemistry was the only class they all had together but Harris taught it and usually managed to ruin everyone's afternoon in the process.

 

“I notice you never bitch about Bruce or Patrick,” Tony pointed out as they slowly made their way inside.

 

“Yes and that's because they don't cause as many problems as the rest of you do,” Pepper answered with a smile.

 

“Yeah, Team Human all the way,” Bruce smirked and fist bumped Patrick behind Pete's head.

 

“Ugh, do we have to?” Joe questioned as he eyed the classroom the way most people did a crime scene. “Can't Tony and Bruce just teach us in Tony's basement?”

 

“We'd definitely learn more,” Pete added thoughtfully.

 

“Get in here,” Harris thundered at them. “If you're not in your seats in two seconds, I'm going to assign you even more homework than I already had planned.”

 

They scrambled into the three labs in the back of the room, Pepper and Patrick in the one closest to the window, Pete and Tony in the middle while Bruce, Joe and Mikey were on the side by the wall. Tony looked over the board for a minute before he dug out his notebook and a pen and started explaining it to Pete in a low voice, sketching out the formulas Harris used in a way Pete could understand; Pete wasn't terrible at chemistry, per se, but he could never grasp anything Harris tried to teach them -mostly because Harris's idea of teaching was to yell at them and insult anyone who didn't get the material right away- and he had been failing until they switched around partners and Tony had been able to help him.

 

Tony, despite his complete disregard for school, was easily the smartest kid in Beacon Hills; he got and kept a 4.0 average as easily as some people failed and Patrick had never seen him even  _open_  a text book. He usually ended up quizzing everyone for tests and exams, especially when lacrosse really got started and they needed to keep their grades up. Bruce was another go-to for most of the pack because while he didn't have Tony's I.Q -not that anyone did- he had a natural aptitude for chemistry and science and was brilliant at both; he also had more patience than Tony did and was less likely to start yelling in frustration.

 

“Do the labs on the board and write everything down,” Harris announced as he sat down behind his desk, his attention already on the lacrosse catalog in front of him. “You know where all the chemicals are.”

 

“Mr. Harris,” Ashlee said a few minutes later, her voice tentative and shy in a way she never actually was. “I've been having trouble lately with the class work, would it be alright if I joined Tony and Pete for today's lesson? I think Tony -”

 

“Yeah, that's fine,” Harris answered absently without even looking up and Ashlee smirked at her friends before she walked to the back of the classroom.

 

Pete glared at her before he turned puppy dog eyes on Tony who rolled his eyes and muttered, “You owe me, Wentz,” as he switched chairs with Pete, putting him at the end and taking the middle seat. He didn't bother looking up as Ashlee sat in the aisle seat and just started arranging the beakers and chemicals Bruce and Joe had dropped off at their tables.

 

“Tony, do you mind switching seats with me?” Ashlee asked him, her eyes fixed on Pete. “I need to talk to -”

 

“No,” Tony interrupted; he looked around the room and then lowered his his voice so it was only audible to their little group in the back. “I don't know why you think any of us want anything to do with you, let alone Pete -who you actually tried to _kill_ , in case you forgot. I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to talk to you.”

 

“That was a misunderstanding,” Ashlee hissed, ignoring the angry noise Patrick let out. “Pete's perfectly capable of talking for himself, if he doesn't want -”

 

“I don't want to talk to you,” Pete told her coldly, his foot stretched across the small aisle so it was pressed against Patrick's sneaker. “Now can you please shut the fuck up?”

 

“Twenty minutes left,” Harris announced in a bored tone. “I want those results on my desk before you walk out the door. Maybe those of you in the back could try doing something besides talking and do some work.”

 

“Fuck,” Pete cursed and looked over Tony's sheet where he was rapidly filling in the questions. “Dude, what the hell does that mean? I can't -”

 

“Just copy it,” Tony told him; he nudged his shoulder against Pete's reassuringly. “I'll explain it later on, after practice. Dinner at my place?”

 

He pushed it over so it was easier to copy; Pete nodded absently and bit his lip as he hurriedly scrawled the answers across his own worksheet.

 

Tony glanced over and saw both Patrick and Pepper scribbling away at their sheets and a quick look to the side told him Joe and Mikey were both copying Bruce's answers. He wasn't really surprised when Pete dragged his chair next to Patrick and hunched over him, letting them check their answers against his.

 

Instead of shrugging Pete off like he would normally do while they were at school, Patrick let him cuddle - _ **either to make a point to Ashlee or because he knows Pete hates talking to her,**_  Tony thought, smirking a little.  _ **Maybe both.**_

 

The bell went off and in the pandemonium of everyone getting their stuff together and rushing out the door, Tony watched Ashlee narrow her eyes at the way Pete gave Patrick a quick kiss and chuckled when Patrick blushed, the way she glared at Patrick when they walked past her. Patrick raised an eyebrow and, in a move that made Tony grin, he pointedly stared at her until she turned around and left the room after getting her books.

 

“She really hates you, Patrick,” Joe noted as they got ready to split off; Pete and Joe to math, Mikey and Tony to shop, while Patrick, Pepper and Bruce were on the other side of the building for their afternoon AP classes.

 

“So what?” Patrick shrugged. “Ashlee's always hated me, now she just feels justified about it.”

 

“Be careful,” Pete told him with a small frown as he headed the opposite way with part of the pack. “Not just of Ashlee, something seems weird to me.”

 

“We'll be fine,” Patrick called over his shoulder in a reassuring tone.

 

“We've all got our pepper spray on us,” Pepper added and patted the front part of her messenger bag. “As well as the mountain ash.”

 

“Love you,” Pete yelled as he disappeared around the corner.

 

Patrick rolled his eyes and tried to hide his smile. Judging from the matching smirks on his packmates faces, he failed.

 

*

 

“I texted Andy to tell him we were going to Tony's after practice,” Pete announced as they gathered around Patrick's Jeep and Tony's Firebird after the last bell to toss their bags and books inside the cars. “He's gonna meet us there.”

 

“Patrick, can I see the book you had earlier?” Pepper asked as she switched her school bag for her other messenger bag; along with the standard pepper spray and mountain ash, it had a few hidden pockets where Pepper had two of her favorite knives, some more mountain ash (you could never have enough), a couple vials of holy water (vampires -don't ask), Wolfsbane (hostile werewolves) and lead nails (faeries -really don't ask).

 

She also had the pack's laptop with her today as well as a spare notebook and pens; Pepper believed in being prepared for everything.

 

“Yeah,” Patrick said; he rummaged through the pile of stuff on the passenger seat and dug it out for her. “Make sure to check the entry on selkies, it definitely has potential; here, I made some notes,” he added as he handed his notebook over with the book.

 

“Hmmm,” Pepper said as she put both in her bag. “Alright, now I have something to do while I play devoted girlfriend at practice and sit in the bleachers.”

 

Before anyone could say anything else, a silver Mustang pulled into the parking lot and idled in front of the doors where a few students were still coming out.

 

“Who's that?” Bruce asked curiously as the driver's door opened and a tall blonde stepped out, her hair pulled back into a ponytail and she had on jeans and a tank top.

 

“I don't know,” Joe answered with a frown; he inhaled a little, trying to catch her scent.

 

“She seems familiar,” Pete added, his brow furrowed thoughtfully. “Like I should recognize her.”

 

“Aunt Jess!” a familiar voice squealed a second before Ashlee dashed from the front doors to the woman by the car and gave her a hug. “I didn't know you were coming for a visit!”

 

“Oh, your father needs my help with something,” Jessica drawled, a secret smile on her face. She glanced around the parking lot; when her eyes landed on them, the smile sharpened dangerously. “It should be a lot of fun.”

 

They watched Ashlee climb into the car and then they stared at each other as it drove away.

 

“That's Jessica Simpson?” Mikey asked, a note of shock in his voice.

 

Jessica Simpson, who's hatred for werewolves was as well known as the Simpson name among Hunters. Jessica Simpson, who had been known to ignore even the thin rules that governed how Hunters dealt with werewolves.

 

The same Jessica Simpson who, when she was twenty-five, moved to Beacon Hills and took a job coaching the swim team at the high school. And then seduced Andy, who was only fifteen at the time, made him think she was in love with him and then learned everything she could about his family.

 

And then when Andy was getting picked up from swim practice by his older sister, she burned the house down and killed the eleven adults and children that were inside.

 

“Fuck,” Patrick said, his voice equal parts anger and uncertainty.

 

“Yeah, that about sums it up,” Tony agreed.

 

Pete was already pulling his phone out to call Andy. “Andy, there's a...problem. Meet us at Tony's in a few minutes? Yeah, we're all going to skip lacrosse.”

 

This was definitely not good.


	2. Part 2

“We don't do anything,” Andy told them, his voice bleak.

 

The pack were gathered in Tony's living room, lounging on the couch and chairs that littered the large room; Tony's parents were gone for the week - “Aspen, I think,” Tony had answered with a shrug when Joe had asked him earlier- and it was just them in the house.

 

“Are you kidding me?” Tony exclaimed, his voice raising in disbelief. “That Simpson chick is a murderer, she killed -”

 

“I know what she did!” Andy roared, his eyes flashing red; the wolves all cringed and tried to shrink in on themselves, their necks bared automatically. Even the humans felt the urge to show their respect to the Alpha, if not as strongly as the wolves did. “I lived it, Tony; every time I sleep, I see it again and again. Don't tell me what she's capable of, I  _know_. Alright? Intimately, I know.”

 

There was a long pause and when Andy spoke again, his voice was softer. “I refuse to lose anyone else because of Hunters and killing her would give Simpson the opening he's been waiting for.”

 

“He believes in the Code,” Patrick said shrewdly. “He won't kill any of us unless we hurt humans. That's how it goes, right? He won't kill any werewolves who haven't spilled human blood?”

 

Andy nodded, his eyes back to their normal color. “You probably know that it's the same for all of us; human or not, as long as your pack, the Code applies to you.”

 

“What do we do?” Mikey asked softly.

 

“The same thing we've been doing,” Andy answered, he looked them over and his eyes hardened. “School, lacrosse, pack meetings; things should be quiet on the supernatural front for a while; murderer or not, Jessica is well known and her reputation is fearsome, even by Hunter standards. No one one's going to want to come through our territory while she's camped out here.

 

“We avoid the Hunters as much as we can, we stay out of their business and make sure we don't do anything to draw their attention to the pack.

 

“Don't let her provoke you into a fight,” he went on, the warning in his voice clear. “She's good at getting people to react to her the way she wants, but don't let it happen. Ignore her and if that doesn't work, be polite -or as polite as you guys get,” Andy added, a small smirk twisting his lips.

 

After a brief debate he sighed and sat down on the couch in between Mikey and Joe. “If she thinks she can get away with it, she'll try to get you in bed; it won't work on Pete or Tony since they have mates, but the rest of you...”

 

“We're not fifteen year old kids, Andy,” Bruce said quietly, his voice gentle. “She can't fool us into believing she's something she's not, we already know what she is.”

 

Andy closed his eyes and nodded grimly; after a minute or two, he exhaled and relaxed a little bit. Almost immediately, the tension in the room went down and everyone seemed a little happier.

 

“Alright then, Stark, is there any food in this place?” Pete asked with a grin, his feet on Patrick's lap. “I'm starving over here.”

 

“Please, Wentz,” Tony scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Food? Here? We'll have to order out -I'll put it on my parents' card. So no arguments over who's paying, alright?”

 

A fight immediately broke out over Chinese or pizza, but when Pete launched himself off the coach and onto Joe and toppled them both over, everyone was too busy laughing at them for it to be taken seriously.

 

*

 

“She's still following us,” Pete grumbled as he followed Patrick down the coffee aisle at the supermarket; they had ducked in to pick up in part to grab coffee and creamer (everyone in the pack seemed to live on the stuff, even the humans; they couldn't keep enough of it around) and also to try to lose Jessica, who had taken to following the pack around at random intervals.

 

She seemed to take a lot of pleasure in letting them know she was in town, periodically showing up at the high school to drop Ashlee off or pick her up, as well as at different places in town where they were at.

 

“Ignore her,” Patrick told him patiently as he dumped his armful of coffee into the shopping cart; Pete pushed it forward and turned toward the dairy aisle.

 

“I  _can't_ ,” Pete complained. “She's right there and I can smell her, it's driving my wolf crazy. He knows that she dangerous and she's in the middle of our territory and he keeps trying to get me to go after her before she hurts you.

 

“Yeah, I know you can take care of yourself 'Trick,” Pete assured him fondly when Patrick raised an eyebrow at him; he ran his hand down Patrick's back as they stopped in front of the coffee creamers. “It's an instinct thing; truthfully, I think the wolf would be just as happy to have you go take care of her.”

 

“I know it's annoying, but there's nothing we can else we can do right now,” Patrick pointed out practically; he counted the creamer and then nodded. He motioned for Pete to go on and they headed for the soda aisle, it was a few seconds before he went on, “You heard Andy, we can't do anything but put up with it.”

 

“Yeah, I know,” Pete said, his frustration obvious; he caught sight of Jessica walking past the aisle they were in and a low growl spilled out of his throat before he could stop it.

 

Patrick looked at him in sympathy; he placed the last case of soda in the cart and then squeezed the back of his neck. “Maybe once we're done with all this, Andy will let me slip a knife between her ribs,” he said thoughtfully.

 

Pete pressed into his mate's hand as the wolf rumbled his approval; they both knew Patrick could take care of himself -of  _them_ \- and they were both proud of having such a strong mate. “I  _love_  when you talk like that,” Pete said, his voice low; the second part of it, the ' _because I know you mean it_ ' goes unsaid.

 

After twelve years of being Pete-and-Patrick, of being not just best friends but _bestfriends_ , of knowing each other better than anyone else, of being dangerously codependent (even before Pete got bitten, they were attached at the hip), they didn't need words to tell each other the important things; Pete getting bitten and discovering they were mates only exasperated a inclination that had been there from the start.

 

Patrick smirked and tightened the grip he had on Pete's neck before he dropped his hand. “Maybe we should drop this stuff off at Tony's and then we can discuss it.”

 

“I like the way you think, Lunchbox,” Pete told him approvingly; he brushed his lips over his mate's quickly and then pulled back. “Let's get out of here.”

 

*

 

Despite the way she had taken to following the pack around, it was a couple months before Jessica said anything to any of them. And when she did, the whole pack wasn't even there; just Pete, Patrick, Tony, Pepper and Joe. Mikey and Bruce had work at the animal shelter and Andy was around somewhere, just out of sight.

 

“Adorable little monsters, aren't they?” Jessica drawled, her arm across Ashlee's shoulders as she surveyed the teenagers in front of her; Patrick was sitting on the picnic table in the middle of the park, his ice cream shoved to the side as he thoughtfully surveyed the hunter in front of them, Pete was next to him, his hand on Patrick's back and the other one gouging holes in the wooden table as he flexed his claws. Joe was standing right behind them, his normally cheerful face serious; Pepper sat to the left of Patrick, her long legs crossed toward them while her hand gripped Tony's thigh, trying to restrain the agitated werewolf next to her. Tony shifted a little, his fingers tapped restlessly against the table but there were no other outward signs that he was aggravated, his usual arrogant smirk twisting his lips. “They look human, don't they, Ash?”

 

“That's funny, so do you,” Tony smirked, his eyes cold. Pete and Joe snickered even as Jessica flushed with anger.

 

“Not all monsters have fangs and fur,” Patrick added and just raised an eyebrow at the venomous look Jessica gave him.

 

“You think this is a joke?” Jessica hissed. “Or some kind of game? You think they're just like anyone else, but they're dangerous, killers -”

 

“No, that would be you,” Pete told her coldly; he could hear his father heading towards them, knew Andy was near by, ready to jump in if things got out of control. He dropped his voice so his father wouldn't be able hear his next words. “You killed an entire family and -”

 

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Jessica said and glanced over as the sheriff got close enough for her to see the concerned look on his face. “We'll have to talk about this later, boys,” she said, her voice going back to the southern drawl she used around strangers. “Come on, Ashlee.”

 

Ashlee paused to look at Pete, confused by his words, but when he refused to look at her she glared at Patrick before following her aunt.

 

“Is everything alright over here?” the Sheriff asked as he looked over the kids gathered around his son.

 

“Yeah, dad, everything's cool,” Pete assured him with a shrug; he cuddled closer to Patrick before he added, “Some people are just incapable of letting my sexy ass go.”

 

“I'm sorry, you mispronounced 'annoying pain in the ass',” Joe said dryly and deftly dodged the playful elbow Pete aimed at him.

 

“Jessica is Ashlee's aunt; Ashlee's been pretty vocal in her dislike about me and Pete dating. Jessica just stopped by to inform us we were going to hell,” Patrick told him, displaying the skill for lying that he'd had since they were in grade school; mixing a little bit of truth with a lie and then sounding as if he believed what he was saying. “They're from Texas, so you know, fire and brimstone seemed the way to go for them.”

 

Peter nodded and made a mental note to keep an ear out for any disturbances at the high school; freedom of belief and expression was all well and good, but he knew how easily they could escalate to something dangerous -especially if one of the people involved was an emotional teenager recently dumped.

 

“Alright, behave yourselves,” Peter said with a stern look in his son's direction; he was sure that they were all equally capable of getting themselves in trouble, but he knew Pete and knew just often he rushed into things without thinking them through -and how often he dragged everyone else along for the ride. “I have to work a double tonight, Johnson's in the hospital still. I'll see you in the morning.”

 

“OK, Dad,” Pete agreed easily. “Be safe -and stay away from the burgers at the diner, your cholesterol's through the roof.”

 

The Sheriff rolled his eyes and left to a chorus of “Bye, Mr. Wentz”and pretended he didn't hear Tony announce that everyone was going to crash at his house since his parents were out of town again. There were worse things Pete could be doing than crashing at his friend's house when he was suppose to be at home.

 

*

 

“What did he mean?”

 

Patrick rolled his eyes and looked over his shoulder at Ashlee. “Nice to see you, too.”

 

He turned back around and gave the barista his order when she called out, “Next,” in a bored tone. “Hey. Um, three venti Caramel Frappuccinos -each with an extra shot of espresso, two venti Mocha Frappuccinos, two venti Hot Chocolates and one venti black coffee, house blend, please. And twenty-five pieces of chocolate chip banana bread.”

 

Patrick winced internally at the price and fished out the black AmEx card Tony had tossed at him before he left the field behind the old Hurley place they were using as a practice space. He swiped the card and then signed the receipt in a near perfect copy of Tony's habitual scrawl.

 

“I didn't know forgery was one of your skills,” Ashlee told him as she stopped by where he was waiting for his order.

 

“I'm multifaceted,” Patrick said lightly and didn't bother pointing out it wasn't forgery if he had Tony's permission beforehand.

 

Ashlee waved a hand at that and looked at him closely. “What Pete said to Aunt Jess Friday night -what did he mean?”

 

“I don't think you want to know the answer to that,” Patrick said, his voice serious. “And I'm really not the person you should be asking, either.”

 

“She said it was nothing important and that she would tell me when I was older,” Ashlee informed him. “But I'm not five, I think I deserve to know now.”

 

Patrick snorted at that; Ashlee's sense of entitlement had always annoyed him. He smiled a little when Mikey appeared at his side and made her jump, but when he turned to face her again, his face was sober. “You really want to know?”

 

“Yes,” Ashlee answered confidently.

 

“Patrick, I don't think...” Mikey trailed off when Patrick glanced at him; it wasn't a warning or even a rebuke, but Mikey deferred to him automatically. It wasn't even that he cared if Ashlee found out, so much as the location, but, after Mikey glanced around to confirm it, there wasn't anyone close enough to overhear them and even the baristas were busy filling Patrick's order and the other people's in line.

 

“You've been living here long enough to hear about the fire at the old Hurley house, right?” Patrick asked after a long minute of silence.

 

Judging by the look on her face, Ashlee didn't understand why he was asking, but she answered anyway. “Yeah, of course I have. It happened ten years ago.”

 

“That's right,” Patrick nodded and although his voice stayed even and pleasant, there was a hardness to his eyes that Mikey recognized from numerous fights and skirmishes with outside packs and other creatures that always equated being human with being weak. “Everyone in the house died, except for Andy and his older sister Laura. No one knew what caused it; it was eventually ruled an accident and Laura took Andy and they moved to New York right after they closed the case.

 

“Earlier that year, the high school hired a new swim coach for the girl's team, Jessica Argent.”

 

“Argent?” Ashlee repeated with a confused frown. “That was my grandfather's last name, but there's no more Argents left -my mom was the last one.”

 

“You're right,” Patrick agreed and his tone grew colder at his next words. “Your aunt used it as an alias while she was here scouting out the Hurley family; you know how influential both the Simpsons and the Argents are in the Hunter communities. Considering the close ties between the two, I suppose it makes a fucked up kind of sense that Jessica would use it for when she was skulking around town.

 

“Well, to cut to the chase, Andy was on the boy's swim team and he met your aunt at one of the swim teams' joint practices; he was only fifteen, so I'm sure it was easy for someone as experienced and beautiful as Jessica was to seduce Andy and once they were in bed, convince him that she -”

 

“No,” Ashlee interrupted angrily. “She wouldn't, you -”

 

“ -loved him and used him to find out everything about his family, his pack,” Patrick went on and ignored the way Ashlee's face went white at his words. “She drew a circle of mountain ash around the outside of the house and then she set it on fire. She murdered eleven people -”

 

“Shut up,” Ashlee hissed and she slapped Patrick across the face, the sound echoing around them; Mikey darted in front of Patrick, a low growl stuck in his throat. “You're a fucken liar, Patrick. A liar and if I hear you say that again, I'm going to gut you where you stand.”

 

Mikey started after her as she turned to leave, intent on neutralizing the threat she represented to one of his pack-mates, but Patrick's hand on his arm stopped him. “Let her go, Mikey. She's not worth it.”

 

Mikey nodded jerkily, his adrenaline still pumping, but he made a note to tell Andy what happened as soon as they got back. He grabbed one of the carriers and ignored the curious look the baristas and other people there gave them as they turned to leave.

 

Patrick didn't think Mikey needed to walk in front of him the whole walk back to where the Jeep was parked, but he knew Mikey would just get more aggravated if he argued about it.

 

He glanced in the rear view mirror as he got ready to back up and winced slightly; there was still a red hand print against his face.

 

Pete was going to lose his shit about this.

 

They hadn't even pulled into traffic before Patrick's phone started ringing -even without the obnoxious ringtone, he knew it was Pete.

 

He debated not answering it, but decided the momentary reprieve wouldn't be worth the headache he would end up with later on.

 

Patrick sighed and answered the phone. “Yeah?”

 

“What the hell happened? Are you guys OK? Do I-”

 

He felt the wash of Pete's concern and something close to fear through their mate-bond and allowed himself a small smile; as annoying as it could be sometimes, when he got hit with random feelings or urges while he was in class or by himself, it was still good to know that he was tied to Pete.

 

“Yeah, we're fine.”

 

“Are you sure? I felt your temper spike and then Andy said Mikey got upset over something,” Pete told him; he still sounded concerned but the panic in his voice had disappeared after Patrick reassured him.

 

“No, it's OK,” Patrick said as he carefully pulled out of his parking space; he glanced at Mikey to make sure the coffee was alright where it was balanced on his lap and then he sped up a little. “I'll tell you about it when we get there.”

 

*

 

Getting cornered at a gas station, in hindsight, was probably inevitable.

 

*

 

Patrick watched warily as the Simpson's SUV pulled up next to the Jeep the gas pump and Ashlee's father stepped put and walked toward him.

 

“Patrick, I wanted to talk to you,” Simpson said darkly and he came close enough that Patrick fought down the urge to yell 'Stranger danger!' and run in the opposite direction. “I heard about your conversation with Ashlee and I don't appreciate it.”

 

“Don't appreciate that I told the truth or that Ashlee actually asked about it?” Patrick questioned curiously; he wasn't as adapt at using the bond the way Pete was -Andy told him that it would get easier with time; wolves knew instinctively, whereas humans had to learn- but he pushed at it as hard as he could and tried to get his attention. He wasn't afraid of the Hunter, but he wasn't stupid enough to think that Simpson wouldn't hurt him given half a chance.

 

He felt Pete push back slightly, his curiosity tinged with worry; unsure of how to convoy ' _I'm at a gas station and getting threatened by a Hunter_ ' through the bond, Patrick just concentrated on it again and hoped it would do the trick. After a few seconds he could sense that Pete changed and started for him.

 

“Ashlee doesn't need you to tell her something like that,” Simpson told him angrily. “You're in bed with them, your whole view on things is skewed -”

 

“Skewed?” Patrick repeated disbelievingly. “How do you skew murder exactly?”

 

“My sister's not some kind of monster for you to -”

 

“Your sister seduced a fifteen year old, which makes her a fucken pedophile, in case you were curious,” Patrick growled, not backing away even when the Hunter's eyes hardened and his hand twitched towards the holster Patrick could see underneath his jacket. “She fucked a teenager and used him to get information about his family and then she murdered them. Your darling little sister set a house full of people on fire and then her and her friends stayed around to make sure no one escaped.

 

“She killed eleven people, five of which were children,” Patrick could feel Pete getting closer, the rest of the pack probably right behind him. “So don't tell me my friends are monsters, that my best friend -my  _mate_ \- deserves to be put down like some kind of rabid dog.

 

“Because out of the two of us, I'm not the one who should be ashamed about the people closest to me.”

 

“You're a teenager,” he spit out furiously. “You have no clue what's really important -”

 

“Wow, you're right, I can't understand that  _murder_  is a thing you shouldn't do because I'm not an adult,” Patrick said sarcastically. “Thank god you told me that, I never would have realized on my own.”

 

Simpson made a frustrated noise and took another step towards Patrick until they were almost nose-to-nose. Patrick stood his ground and bared his teeth at him in a clear threat.

 

_Christ, I've been spending too much time with those jackasses,_ Patrick thought, amused despite the situation.

 

Almost as if he planned it, there was a long, drawn out howl from the woods next to them; after a second, more wolves joined the first one until there was an entire chorus coming from the trees.

 

Simpson shook his head and strode away from the teenager, got in his car and drove off.

 

Patrick sighed in relief but it was cut short when he realized he was going to have to explain to his Alpha why the hell he had just had words with a Hunter -with Joe fucken Simpson of all people.

 

“Fuck me.”

 

*

 

“It totally wasn't my fault,” Patrick told Andy as soon as he saw him; he had come from the gas station straight to Andy's loft where Pete had been before he had left to go to Patrick. Joe, Mikey and Tony had met him there, pulled from their houses by Pete's distress. “Honestly, I was just getting some gas and he showed up.”

 

“And?” Andy prompted when Patrick didn't go on; his voice was mild. He didn't think Patrick had started anything; Patrick was his second for a lot of reasons and none of them were because Patrick was the kind of guy who ignored what he told him, then went and did the exact opposite.

 

“He got in my face,” Patrick answered and sat down on the couch; Pete jumped up next to him and laid down, taking up the rest of the couch, his head on his mate's thigh. Tony had to go back to his house - “Howard's actually home for the weekend and we have to play happy family,” was the bitten off explanation when Patrick had dropped him back off at his house- while Joe and Mikey had changed into the extra clothes Patrick kept in his Jeep and went over Joe's house for lunch.

 

“He got in my face and started bitching about the fact that Ashlee asked him about the fire,” he went on, unconsciously petting Pete, who let out a happy rumble and pressed closer to Patrick. “And then he tried to intimidate me by, like, getting close enough to kiss -”

 

He paused long enough to run a soothing hand over Pete's head when he growled and continued, “- and threatening me, so I didn't back down. I told him the truth, didn't act scared of him and fuck him if he didn't like it.”

 

Andy smiled despite himself as he sat down in the chair across from them. “From now on, try not to go any where by yourself -have Pete with you or someone. The same goes for everyone else.”

 

“For how long?” Patrick asked seriously, his mind already going over everyone's schedules for the next two weeks.

 

“Until Jessica Simpson goes back to wherever the hell she came from,” Andy answered. “Hopefully it won't be too much longer.”


	3. Part 3

“'Tricky 'Trick,” Pete crowed as he followed Patrick around his kitchen while Patrick did the dishes and cleaned up the mess from dinner. “Can we go now?”

 

“Yeah, yeah, give me a second,” Patrick told him absently as he finished putting away the dishes; he took a last look around the kitchen, pointedly ignoring Pete who was almost bouncing, he was so eager to leave.

 

He walked over to the counter to grab his keys and smiled slightly when Pete cheered and ran out the front door; when he got to the Jeep after locking up, Pete was already in the passenger seat and making lewd gestures at Patrick.

 

Patrick got in and rolled his eyes at Pete's antics; Pete just chuckled and looked out the window, his gaze on the almost full moon.

 

The ride out to the reserve was quiet; Pete was too preoccupied to to do more than squirm in his seat and Patrick was content to sit in silence for now.

 

As they pulled into the parking lot, Patrick could see the Camaro and the Firebird already parked.

 

“Come on, Patrick,” Pete told him and dragged him toward the trees.

 

Patrick smiled fondly; Pete loved running around the woods at almost any given time, but he got even worse around the full moon. He didn't mind; the woods were quiet except for the faint noises of the rest of the pack and the local animals, the weather was nice and Pete was happy.

 

That was good enough for him.

 

*

 

The arrow had come out of no where.

 

One minute Patrick was just standing next to him, laughing at something, and the next there was a muted thud and Patrick had made this surprised grunt and there was an arrow sticking out of his chest.

 

For a second, Pete just stood there and then Patrick's eyes met his and he collapsed.

 

“Patrick, no,” Pete said as he caught him. “No, you can't.”

 

He threw his head back and howled for his pack, his Alpha.

 

“Pete,” Patrick managed to choke out. “If I die -my mom, please.”

 

“You're not going to die,” Pete told him fiercely as Andy came tearing up to them in his Alpha form; he changed back and quickly took in the situation. “You'll help me look after her yourself, Stump.”

 

Andy quickly barked orders for Pepper and Bruce to take cover and sank to his knees next to them.

 

“Love you,” Patrick mumbled and his whole body shuddered with pain. “Always have. Since..”

 

He trailed off, his eyelids fluttering close.

 

Pete let out a sound of misery as he press his face against his mate's. “Patrick, you can't leave me,” he glanced briefly at his Alpha. “Andy, please.”

 

“Patrick, open your eyes,” Andy ordered, his voice even. “That's it, look at me. Do you want the bite? It could save you or -”

 

“It could kill me, yeah,” Patrick interrupted breathlessly; his fingers twitched a little and Pete reached over to cover them with his own. “I know...the chances. Go on, then, do it. I don't want...”

 

“He passed out from the pain,” And said and stopped Pete when he went to wake him up. “Let him go, we still need to get the arrow out of his chest before I bite him. Can you hold him down?”

 

“Yeah, I can do that,” Pete answered weakly; he kissed Patrick's forehead before he dropped his hand and shifted back enough so he could hold Patrick's shoulders down.

 

Andy quickly felt around where the arrow had gone through Patrick's chest and then along the entry wound in his back. “Got to break it first,” Andy muttered; there was a loud snap and then Andy tossed a piece of it to the side. “Ready?”

 

Andy yanked the arrow out fast and made Patrick moan; it was only Pete's hands that kept him from jerking away.

 

“Alright,” Andy went on and picked up Patrick's wrist.

 

He shifted enough that his eyes were red and his fangs were out and then after what seemed like forever to Pete, he bit down on Patrick's forearm.

 

Patrick gasped for breath, his hand grabbed Pete's wrist and he yelled.

 

*

 

 

“ _Nous chassons ceux qui nous chassent,_ ” Pete told the Hunter, his voice cold; there was a hint of a snarl around the edges of the words, restrained and dangerous in a way that Ashlee had never associated with him before. He glanced at Ashlee briefly before he focused his attention back on her father.

 

Andy stood behind him, silent for now; he was willing to let Pete have his say but he kept a hand on his shoulder, a reminder of pack, of the fact that his Alpha had his back -and a warning to remember that they had a reason for being here.

 

“That's your family motto -we hunt those who hunt us,” Pete went on and now he spit the words at Simpson, his eyes flashing blue. “Sounds honorable, doesn't it? Just like the Simpsons are supposed to be; you only kill wolves who break the code.”

 

Pete's control wavered long enough for his teeth to lengthen as he stepped forward; Andy gripped his shoulder tight enough that he felt his bone crack and the brief flare of pain grounded him again.

 

He took a deep breath and then tossed the remains of the arrow that had hit Patrick onto the concrete in front of Joe; they were black and the light from the Simpson's front porch made the dried blood look almost glossy, dark red on black.

 

Ashlee looked at the arrow and raised an eyebrow when she caught Pete's eye.

 

“Five hours ago, someone shot Patrick while we were hiking through the reserve,” Pete stated, his voice caught for a second before he continued. “He was walking in front of me when it hit him.

 

“He almost died before we got him to the hospital; I had to listen to his heartbeat get weaker with every step we took, his blood on my fucken hands,” Pete shook off Andy's hand and strode forward until he was in Joe's face; he wrapped his hand around Joe's wrist and squeezed when he went for the knife strapped to his side.

 

“We both know there are only three hunters in town who are not only good enough to make a shot like that in the dark, in the woods, but are also stupid enough to go on pack territory the night before the full moon,” Pete said quietly and nodded when Joe paled. “Patrick's human,”  _was_  human, at least; but while Pete would never think to lie to any of his pack, he had no such reservations when it came to almost everyone else, “even if he is pack and my mate; he's never attacked a human for no reason in his life, by your own code, he's exempt from being attacked in the dark like he's a fucken monster. If he dies, I will personally come back here and rip you and the rest of your family apart.”

 

There was no mistaking the dark promise in the words or the look on Pete's face that made it believable; for the first time, Ashlee was afraid of him and she took an involuntary step backwards.

 

“If anyone in your family goes near any of my pack or step foot on our lands, we will attack you,” Andy said, his voice hard. “I know Ashlee has school with them and we live in the same town, but they have orders to kill you if you corner them or try to take them any where.

 

“I already lost my family because of your sister,” and now his voice held remembered pain and anger and the self-loathing that still hadn't gone away even after more than a decade; as Pete slid into his spot to the right of his Alpha, he nudged Andy's shoulder a little, reminding him that he wasn't alone any more. “And I will not lose anyone else to you.”

 

“ _Nous touns ceux qui nous chasser,_ ” Pete said over his shoulder as they disappeared into the night.

 

“We kill those who hunt us,” Ashlee murmured.

 

*

 

“But why didn't he change?” Pete asked, his voice a quiet murmur underneath his mate's soft snoring; they were still at the hospital and there were humans in and out of Patrick's room. Most of the nurses stopped in to check on him and to give Pete a hug and words of encouragement; between the fact that Patrick's mother had been an ER nurse for almost ten years and the way the two of them had been in and out of the ER with various injuries over the years, they were on a first name basis with almost all of the nurses at the hospital.

 

Andy was eyed with suspicion by some and petted by the older nurses who remembered his family and the fire; it was hard to say which made him more uncomfortable, but his face when the nurses brought food to the room for Pete and whoever else was there and made sure to pat his head was enough to make the whole pack laugh.

 

“It happens sometimes,” Andy told him as he turned to look out the window; Tony and Pepper were getting out of Tony's car and Pepper had the pack's laptop in her arms while Tony was carrying a bag with Patrick's homework in it.

 

“Not often -my mother told me once that she only heard of it happening a couple times, but it's not impossible. It honestly didn't occur to me that he wouldn't change, especially after he was partially healed by the time we got him here.”

 

“Stop talking about me,” Patrick said in a pissy voice as he opened his eyes. “I can hear you, you know.”

 

“But 'Trick, you're too sexy to ignore,” Pete said with a friendly leer; Patrick rolled his eyes but he returned the affectionate kiss Pete gave him before he moved back to the chair beside the hospital bed.

 

“God, I hate this,” Patrick muttered as he sat up; he waved away Pete, who had jumped back up and was hovering over him, and settled himself against the pillows. His shoulder twinged at him when he reached for the water on the table next to the bed.

 

“Motherfucker,” he cursed loudly, but without any real heat; a pulled shoulder was annoying but it beat the alternative. There had been a few minutes there where he had thought he was going to bleed to death before Andy had arrived and definitely before they were any where near a hospital.

 

Pete gave him a sympathetic look and handed him the cup before he turned to their Alpha. “I still don't understand why, though.”

 

“Neither do I,” Andy said with a shrug; his shoulders were tense and he was even more quiet than was usual for him. “Something in his DNA, maybe; something that made him open to the possibility of the bite, but not let it take, so to speak. I doubt we'll ever find out why.

 

“It'll be interesting to see what stuck, though,” Andy added thoughtfully. “You healed that chest wound as fast as I think Pete would, but you still have some strained muscles -which would never happen to a wolf; usually, once your body's healed that much, it's only a matter of seconds until the rest of it's finished off.”

 

Patrick nodded unhappily. “I'm going to get out of here as soon as I can,” he announced, more to distract Andy than anything else. Pete squeezed his hand in understanding before he spoke up.

 

“I don't know, Patrick, your mom seemed pretty insistent that you stay here at least another night,” Pete reminded him just as the door opened and Tony strode in with Pepper half a step behind him.

 

Tony had his customary smirk firmly in place, but there was a hardness to his eyes that made it obvious he was mad about something. Pepper brushed a hand over his back as she walked to the bed; she placed the laptop on the bedside table and brushed a kiss across Patrick's cheek before she gave him a long hug.

 

Patrick hugged her back and smiled when she pulled back and looked at him in disapproval. “I hope you plan on coming back to school soon, dealing with this bunch by myself is driving me crazy.”

 

Tony dumped the books on the floor and gave Patrick a hug before he rubbed his face across the left side of Patrick's; Patrick rolled his eyes fondly but didn't say anything, he just angled his head to the side and let Tony scent-mark him as pack and reassure himself that he was still alive.

 

Tony wasn't the only one, either; in the three days he had been in here, there had hardly been ten minutes when one of Patrick's pack-mates weren't petting him or touching him to assure themselves that he had survived, that he was still a part of them. It was always the left side of his face, though; Pete used the right side almost instinctively for some reason that Patrick didn't know or understand. He thought it might have to do with mates and bonds, but he never brought it up with Andy. There was so much that Andy had never gotten a chance to learn about being a werewolf and every time something came up and they had to go searching for answers because he didn't know, it depressed Andy for days; there was no way Patrick was going to put him in that kind of mood for something that probably wasn't even important.

 

“Everyone else says 'hi' and promised to stop by after they get out of work,” Tony informed them as he leaned against the wall by Andy, his shoulder touching Andy's. “Unless, of course, they let you out of here.”

 

“I want to,” Patrick bitched. “But my mom is being a hard ass about it. I can't believe they even kept me here this long, I doubt anyone else would have even stayed overnight.”

 

“Excuse me for being worried when you showed up covered in blood,” his mom told him and arched an eyebrow when he glared at her; none of the wolves jumped or looked startled, so Patrick included them in his glare for not telling him his mother was there.

 

“I told you, Mom, I got a nosebleed,” Patrick said, his voice even; he rubbed his thumb over the hand Pete had fisted in the sheets on the bed. “And I fell while we were on the way home, that's how I pulled my shoulder.”

 

“Uh-huh,” Patricia said with the tone of someone who clearly didn't believe a word that was being said. “Why don't we wait and see what the doctor says?”

 

Almost immediately, Dr. Rogers came into the room with a wide smile; his blond hair and blue eyes were as sighed over by the nurses as his son's were by most of the girls at their high school. “Hello, Patrick, how's the shoulder feeling?”

 

“I think that's our cue to leave,” Andy said softly; he said goodbye to Patrick and Pete, smiled at Patrick's mother and the doctor before he left.

 

“Yeah, we'll talk to you guys later,” Tony agreed and he shot Pete a look that made Pete frown before he nodded. “Alright, let us know what's going on.”

 

“Bye, guys,” Pepper said as she followed Tony out into the hallway. “Bye, Mrs. Stump, Dr. Rogers.”

 

“Bye, sweetie,” Patricia said with a small smile; out of Patrick's newer friends, Pepper was definitely her favorite. She turned to Pete once they cleared the doorway and were headed down the hall. “Pete, honey, could you wait in the hallway? Or, maybe you should go home; I swear you haven't spent more than ten minutes away from Patrick since he checked in.”

 

Patrick could feel Pete panicking even if his face wasn't showing anything. “He can stay, Mom,” Patrick told her quietly. “He'll just bug me until I tell him what happens, anyway.”

 

Pete flashed him a grateful grin while his mom just shook her head and the doctor laughed.

 

“Alright then, Patrick, can you move down to the end of the bed?” Dr. Rogers asked pleasantly as handed Patrick's medical chart to his mother. “I need to see your range of movement and if the swelling has gone down. Then we can discuss getting you out of here.”

 

*

 

“Do you need anything?” Pete asked as Patrick climbed into his bed; the doctor had let him go home with orders to rest his shoulder for a few days. His mother had wanted to take the rest of the night off but Patrick had assured her that he would be fine spending the night at Pete's, she had eventually relented and made him promise to answer his phone when she called.

 

“I'm fine, Pete,” Patrick said patiently as he arranged himself on the middle of the bed; one of the reasons he had wanted to stay here instead of his house was that Pete's bed was a lot bigger than his -Pete had a queen and Patrick's was only a full- and Patrick wasn't dumb enough to believe that Pete would be the only one who would want to cuddle tonight.

 

Patrick laid down on his left side, facing the wall and yawned; Pete put his phone down and carefully crawled over to him and laid in between him and the wall. “I let everyone know we were here and that my dad's working third shift,” Pete told him as curled up next to his mate; he kept himself six or seven inches away from him until Patrick opened one eye and said, “I'm not going to  _break_ , Pete, you can come closer if you want.” and then smirked when Pete moved over and tucked his face under Patrick's chin so he could inhale his scent, wrapped an arm around Patrick's waist and tangled their legs together.

 

He was drifting off when he heard the front door open and close and then three different sets of footsteps come up the stairs; the bed dipped down and Pepper pushed Patrick's hair off his forehead and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before she leaned over him and pressed her cheek against Pete's. Pete smiled at her and peered over her shoulder to where Tony and Bruce were taking off their shoes and socks; Pepper smiled back at him and then laid down next to Patrick, so their backs pressed together.

 

Tony slid in next to Pepper and curled around her, his hand pressed in between her Patrick, so he could feel it every time Patrick took a breath. Bruce hesitated for a brief second before he laid down next to Tony, his arm flung across his best friend's waist.

 

Patrick blinked his eyes open what felt like a few minutes later, but must have been longer because there wasn't any sunlight filtering through the blinds.

 

He didn't know what woke him until he heard the tell tale thump of someone dropping from Pete's bedroom window to the floor; there was some scuffling and then the mattress dipped down as someone crawled over to wedge themselves in between Pete and the wall.

 

“Fuck, Mikey, you're feet are freezing,” Pete complained sleepily as he tried to move closer to his mate.

 

“Sorry,” Mikey mumbled, but Pete had already dropped off again; Mikey curled into a ball, his arm stretched across Pete's waist so he could fist his hand in Patrick's t-shirt.

 

Joe made his way to bed and sprawled over everyone's legs, his head resting on Pete's calf.

 

“Andy?” Patrick called out softly even though his eyes started drifting shut again.

 

“Right here,” Andy answered from the far side of the bed. “You can go back to bed, I'll keep an ear out.”

 

When he woke up again, it was morning -early enough that the Sheriff wasn't home yet- and he could smell coffee and bacon cooking from downstairs.

 

He got up and carefully shuffled his way downstairs, mostly asleep, until he was in the kitchen and zeroed in on the cup of coffee Pete had in his hands; he didn't even say anything, just held out his hands and made 'give me' noises until Pete handed it over with a wide grin.

 

Patrick gulped down half of it with his eyes still closed so he could enjoy the rush of caffeine properly and slowly began listening to the noises around him. He inhaled deeply and smelled bacon again and waved his hand around in what he hoped was Pete's general direction.

 

“Here you go, Pattycakes,” Pete said fondly and gave him a piece of the bacon before setting the plate on the counter next to his elbow.

 

Now that he was marginally more awake, Patrick realized that the only other person in the house besides them was Andy; he chanced cracking open his eyes to glance at the clock and saw that Pete's dad was due home in a half hour.

 

He closed his eyes again and slowly sipped the rest of his coffee; he punctuated sips with bacon and slowly woke up enough to understand what the other two were talking about.

 

“Tony said she was happy that Patrick was hurt,” Pete said, the easy affection from a few minutes ago gone. “She was mouthing platitudes at him, but he said she smelled like she just got the best news of her life.”

 

“I agree it was probably her, but now's not the time,” Andy told him, his voice heavy. “We don't have any proof that a group of Hunters is likely to accept and considering who Ashlee's related to, it would basically have to be a signed confession. There's too many Hunters here right now; Jessica's got ten or so with her.

 

“Bruce over heard them talking at the diner and most of them are suppose to be leaving soon.”

 

Pete made an aggravated noise; Patrick put his coffee down and walked over to wrap an arm around Pete's waist. Pete sighed and nuzzled his jaw for a second before he pulled back.

 

“But if anything else happens, you know what we told Simpson,” Andy went on. “I'm done playing games with them.

 

“The next time anyone else touches us, we'll take care of it.”  



	4. Part 4

“Now, isn't  _this_  familiar,” Jessica taunted as she surveyed the five werewolves in front of her; the circle of mountain ash stark against the white tile floor. The two other Hunters smirked at them while they straightened the knives that were laid out on the table in front of them.

 

“I'm going to kill you for this,” Andy told her, a dangerous growl rumbling from his throat; his eyes were dark red and his teeth had lengthened into fangs but otherwise he seemed unaffected. “Even if it costs me my own life, I am going to rip your throat out with my teeth.”

 

“We both know that isn't going to happen,” Jessica smirked, sure in her victory already. “You can't get out of the circle and none of us are going to break it.

 

“All of you are going to stay in there while I make sure we get  _all_  of your pack this time, Hurley; I've got the others locked in another room and -”

 

Pete howled in rage at the words and threw himself at the barrier before Andy could stop him, Tony half a step behind him; slamming against the barrier of mountain ash felt like hitting a wall of concrete and it took Pete almost a full minute to hear over the ringing in his ears.

 

Andy ran a hand over Pete's head in comfort but his eyes never left Jessica; Joe and Mikey were standing close together, they were both tensed and ready for a fight and Tony was prowling around the circle, a steady stream of growls and snarls leaving his mouth.

 

Pete rose to his feet and took his place at his Alpha's side; now that he had calmed down, he realized he could still feel Patrick through their mate-bond and while Patrick felt pissed off and a lot of other things that were too rushed for Pete to get a reading on, he was still  _alive_ , still connected to him and as long as that didn't change, Pete knew they could get out of this.

 

“Not very intelligent, are you?” Jessica asked as the other Hunters laughed. “That's OK, sweetie, I think I can see why Ashlee was willing overlook it in your case.”

 

Pete fought off a shudder at the look Jessica gave him and Andy snarled and moved in front of his beta protectively. Before it could devolve into anything else, there was a some noise and then Pete exhaled in dismay when a familiar scent hit his nose. “You have to be fucken kidding me.”

 

When Ashlee walked in with her father, Pete felt Tony and Joe flank him while Mikey pressed against his back; Andy didn't move from his spot in front of him and when he flexed his hand his claws slid out.

 

“Aunt Jess, what are you -”

 

Ashlee's question cut off as her father squeezed her shoulder in warning; when he spoke to his sister, his voice was even but his scent was a mix of fear and resignation.

 

“Jess, I told you to leave them alone,” Simpson told her as he took in the mountain ash on the floor and the stainless steel table with the small array of knives on it to the Hunters that smirked at him. “We have a truce with the Hurley pack; let them go.”

 

“They're monsters, Joey,” Jessica hissed, her eyes narrowed angrily at her older brother. “How could you forget Dad's lessons? They need to be stopped before they do more damage -”

 

“Damage? Jess, what the hell is wrong with you; there hasn't been any attacks here since the rogue Alpha was killed. And that's the Sheriff's  _son_  you've got trapped there, do you think he's not going to want to find out who killed his kid?”

 

“Oh, don't worry, brother dear, I've got that covered,” Jessica assured him, a cold smile on her face. She turned to the other Hunters and barked out, “Go get the other three.”

 

They hesitated for a second before they left out a side door; Pete latched on to Tony's wrist and growled as his eyes followed them until the door shut behind them. Tony whined, low in his throat, and surged forward until he bumped against Andy's back.

 

“The other three?” Simpson repeated incredulously; his hand tightened on Ashlee's shoulder as he looked at his sister. “Jessica, please tell me you don't have  _humans_ here, too!”

 

“If you hurt him, I will rip you apart,” Pete promised her, his voice riding the edge between growling and talking. “Not even this fucken circle will stop me from getting to you.”

 

“And that's assuming I don't get to you first,” Tony snarled, his eyes flashed electric blue and his whole body was poised to fight at the first opportunity.

 

Jessica glanced over her shoulder and just smirked at them; they both snarled at her and it was only Andy' raised hand that kept them from leaping forward.

 

“Jessica, this is murder,” her brother said, his tone almost pleading. “I hate werewolves just as much as you do, but they haven't broken the Code, you can't -”

 

“It's not murder,” Jessica argued, she checked the circle again and turned towards her brother. “They're monsters, Joey! You know it as well as I do -I'm helping people by getting rid of them. Ashlee will be safe without them roaming around her school, this is for her.”

 

“Don't drag her into this,” Simpson said through clenched teeth. “You're doing this because you want to, don't use my daughter as an excuse.”

 

“Aunt Jess, why is Pete here?” Ashlee asked tentatively. “He didn't kill or hurt anyone.”

 

“Ashlee, sweetie, trust me, it was only a matter of time before he did,” Jessica told her niece with the same warm smile that Ashlee had seen on her face her whole life. “They can't help it, they're animals. They put on a good show, but it in the end they need to be put down, like the rabid dogs they are.”

 

“Did you burn down the Hurley house? Patrick said you did, but I know -please, Aunt Jess, you didn't did you?” Ashlee questioned in a quiet voice, her tone begged her favorite aunt to deny it.

 

“You'll understand when you're older, Ash,” Jessica answered, she took a step forward and her eyes searched the teenager's face. “Sometimes you have to sacrifice a few to save the many; look at it as exterminating some cockroaches so they don't infest the whole neighborhood.”

 

Pete looked over to the door when it opened and his heart skipped a beat as Patrick walked in with Pepper and Bruce behind him; before any of them could make any noise, Andy held up his hand to quiet them.

 

He kept an ear on the Simpsons but his eyes were on his second's; Andy raised an eyebrow and nodded the way they had come. Patrick shook his head and ran a finger across his own throat.

 

_Dead,_ Pete thought and he felt a fierce pleasure at the idea that his mate had killed them, had gotten rid of the threat to his pack.  _They deserved it, they hurt us, brought us here, would have killed us,_  Pete crooned to his wolf and fed all his pride and love into the mating bond so Patrick would know how proud they were of him, how much he meant to them.

 

Patrick's lip curled into a smile but he kept his eyes on their Alpha and Pete felt the echo of Patrick's feelings; there was a scrape along Patrick's cheekbone and he had a black eye as well as a cut through his eyebrow that had bled over the side of his face, but he was  _alive_  and as long as that stayed the same, Pete would do whatever he had to to keep it that way.

 

Andy nodded once more and Patrick walked towards where the Hunters were still huddled together while Pepper and Bruce went to break the circle of mountain ash that had the rest of their pack imprisoned.

 

“I don't understand why you're so upset, Joey, I'm just -” Jessica made a surprised noise that ended in a wet, choked sound that made her brother's face harden as he drew his gun with one hand and shoved Ashlee to the side with the other.

 

Jessica dropped to her knees, her eyes locked onto her brother's face as she tried to breath.

 

“You know, I can't decide if I should be insulted that you restrained us with  _zip-ties_ ,” Patrick said conversationally; his voice was even as he stared at Simpson and his arm was steady when he twisted the knife in Jessica's back. “And then didn't even bother to search us once you got us here. Or if I should just be amused at the whole scenario.

 

“For someone who murders people for a living, you're a lot dumber than I thought. Or maybe you're just so focused on the supposed damage werewolves are capable of that you forget just how much damage us humans can do to each other if we want to.”

 

Ashlee stared at Patrick in confusion, unable to reconcile the quiet kid who sat behind her in Chemistry with the person in front of her who looked so comfortable with a knife in his hand.

 

“I'm going to lean towards amused, if only because I've wanted to do this to you since I found out who you were,” Patrick went on, cool and collected, not even flinching at the gun the Hunter had pulled on him.

 

“Ashlee, get behind me,” her father ordered harshly and then to Patrick, “Don't think I won't shoot you.”

 

Patrick raised an eyebrow as he pulled his knife out of Jessica's body and casually slit her throat before he wiped the blade off on his shirt. “Believe me, I know what your family's capable of -questionable self-defense isn't the worst thing you guys have ever done.”

 

“Patrick,” Andy said quietly as he came up behind them; Patrick slid over so he was on the Alpha's right, he put his knife back in the sheath on his calf before he straightened and pressed close to Pete so their shoulders were touching; it wasn't as close as he wanted to be to him, but it was all they could do until they cleaned up this mess.

 

He could see everyone else grouped around Andy; Tony on his left with Pepper and Bruce slightly behind him and Mikey and Joe on his other side.

 

“You can do whatever you want to me, but let Ashlee go,” Simpson told them, his voice steady; he ignored his daughter's distressed, “Dad, no!” and concentrated on the werewolves in front of him.

 

“Jesus, do we look like hunters to you?” Joe asked angrily.

 

“Unless you had something to do with this, I'm not going to hurt you,” Andy told him, his voice heavy. “I have no reason to want you dead as long as you leave us alone; I'm not human, I don't blame you for something you didn't know about or have any control over.

 

“I'm not sorry your sister's dead -she took more from me than you'll ever be able to understand. And if you ever get killed, I won't feel bad about that, either. But I can promise you that none of my pack will bother you  _as long as you leave us alone_.”

 

“And if we run into each other any where?” Simpson questioned even as he took a couple steps backwards.

 

“Please, we can control ourselves,” Tony scoffed and rolled his eyes.

 

“That doesn't matter, we won't attack you until you attack us,” Andy said patiently; he eyed Ashlee as she looked around her father's shoulder. “That includes Ashlee shooting Patrick with a crossbow. If she -”

 

“That wasn't me!” Ashlee protested unconvincingly.

 

“Liar,” Mikey said flatly; when she she glared at him, he just raised an eyebrow and lifted his lip so his teeth were visible. She flushed when Pete growled softly and ducked back behind her father.

 

“-can't let her thing with Pete go, someone's going to get hurt,” Andy ignored the interruptions and went on. “Mates are important to us, more important than anything -except for our cubs. If Ashlee hurts Patrick again, Pete's going to go after her -he won't be able to help himself, his wolf will push for it.”

 

“I'll talk to her about it,” Simpson said after a long silence; he held up a hand when she started to protest. “You have my word that she'll leave him alone.”

 

“ _Your_  word?” Pepper repeated incredulously.

 

“Pepper,” Andy said; he didn't do anything else but Pepper subsided without another word. “We'll clean this mess up and fix something so it won't get traced back to us.”

 

“My father owns the building,” Tony interjected, his usual smirk firmly in place; there was a tremor in his shoulders and despite the arrogance in his tone, he sounded half a step away from collapsing. Pepper placed a hand on his lower back and after a moment Bruce carefully put one on his shoulder. When he spoke again, he sounded a little more like his normal self. “If we make it look like an accident -fray the wiring, overload some of the circuits- Howard won't put more than the minimum effort into investigating it. Less if I tell him I was messing around in here when the fire started.”

 

“I can take the bodies,” Simpson volunteered and managed a small smile at the confused looks he got. “When Hunters die during skirmishes, we can't just call the cops; there's a system we use for it.”

 

“Alright,” Andy said after a minute. “Tony take Bruce and Patrick and set that up; Pete, you and Joe -”

 

Andy paused at the low whine Pete let out; Patrick bit his lip and looked just as upset at the idea, but he didn't say anything. He mentally chastised himself for not thinking that they would want to stay within sight of each other for a few days.

 

“Tony take Bruce and Pepper instead; Patrick, take Pete and Joe and carry the bodies out to their SUV. Come back in here when you're done and we'll see where Tony is at.”

 

Patrick nodded and headed towards the side door his hand tangled in Pete's and Joe crowded on the other side of him.

 

Tony strode over to the far wall, Pepper's hand firmly caught in his; even as he waved his left hand around to point out the various weak spots in the wiring, he kept his grip on Pepper. Andy was unsurprised when he kept brushing his shoulder against Bruce's as well; he had suspected for a while that Tony, Pepper and Bruce were a triad -Patrick had mentioned it to him and once he had confirmed that triads were possible, if not exactly common, Patrick had laughed for a good ten minutes before going to tell Pete.

 

It had gotten to the point where it was an open secret among the pack, much like Patrick being Pete's mate had been before they had mated -except now it was Pepper, Tony and Bruce that weren't in the know about it.

 

“Ashlee, stay here. I'll be right back.”

 

Ashlee watched her father lead the way through the main doorway and to the hallway, Pete and Joe each with a dead Hunter slung over their shoulders and Patrick carrying their weapons in his arms, before she turned to back to Andy and looked apprehensive.

 

Andy eyed her speculatively; she smelled like prey to him, afraid and half ready to run from him at the slightest excuse.

 

“Wolves mate for life,” Andy told her quietly, hoping to save them all a lot of trouble by making her understand why Pete would never go back to her. Mikey snorted in amusement next to him as if he understood what his Alpha was doing and doubted it would work. “And so do werewolves, Ashlee; in some things, we're very much like the animals Hunters think we are.

 

“Even if Pete managed to survive Patrick dying, there would be no one else for him -or his wolf- for the rest of his life. Both halves of him bonded with Patrick and it wouldn't occur to him to even  _think_  about anyone else. It may sound ridiculous to you, but Patrick is all Pete is ever going to want or need.”

 

Ashlee bit her lip and looked away from them, tried to block the words out.

 

“It was always going to be Pete and Patrick,” Mikey added, his voice softer than Andy would have expected. “They've been tied together since they were kids; trust me, we've been in a lot of the same classes all through school. Getting bitten just made it, like, official or what have you.”

 

“But we started dating after that, after he got bitten,” Ashlee hissed out, her voice slightly desperate; for a second, Andy felt sorry for her. Being convinced you loved someone who didn't love you back was hard under even normal circumstances, never mind these ones. “And he cared about me, I know he did. He didn't even want Patrick, not until that stupid party and Patrick kissed him.”

 

“Wrong,” Tony interrupted as he came back over; his hand was still wrapped around Pepper's and Bruce was close behind him. “I happened to be outside when they kissed and Pete definitely kissed him first. And I don't know what he did before he was a wolf, but by the time I was bitten, I could smell it all over Pete that he wanted Patrick.”

 

Ashlee opened her mouth but before she could say anything her father came back in the room; she looked unhappy enough to make her father frown but he didn't mention it when he spoke. “Are we done here?”

 

Andy waited until Patrick, Pete and Joe were back next to him before he nodded. “Yeah, we can take care of the fire here. Do you want help moving Jessica?”

 

Ashlee made a distressed noise and Simpson's mouth hardened, but when he spoke his words were even. “No, I got it, thanks. Come on, Ash.”

 

He bent over and lifted his sister's body over his shoulders in a fireman's carry; his face was set in hard lines as he turned to go. Ashlee glanced back once before she followed her father out.

 

Pete waited until their footsteps faded out and then he latched onto Patrick, buried his face into his mate's neck and inhaled. “ _Patrick_.”

 

“Hey, Pete, I'm right here,” Patrick murmured soothingly and softly ran his hand up and down Pete's back. “I'm alright, I hardly even got hurt. We're both alive.”

 

Pete whined and pressed closer to Patrick, rubbed his face against Patrick's; Patrick wrapped his arms around him and held on -he needed to feel Pete under his hands,  _alive_ , just as much as Pete did.

 

Tony pulled Pepper to him, buried his nose in her hair and clutched her tight enough that there would probably be bruises along her back from his fingers; she leaned into him and pressed their faces together. After a second, Tony reached over and dragged Bruce into the hug; Pepper wrapped one arm around him and one around Tony. Bruce stayed tense for a second before he exhaled and relaxed into it, a small, happy smile on his face.

 

Andy smiled to himself as he turned to take one last look around the warehouse; they would need to leave soon, but there was time to let his pack relax for a minute.

 

As he watched Mikey and Joe rough house; Pete and Patrick cling to each other, Tony, Pepper and Bruce start to understand what they were meant to be, Andy thought that while he would miss his family for the rest of his life, he could do a lot worse than what he had now.


End file.
